Organic Certifiers and their Standards

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As the organic food marketplace has grown, the competition between manufacturers and the consumer voice asking for standards has led to multiple third-party certification providers across the country and internationally. Understanding label terminology can be challenging enough, and when you add another layer to the mix, it makes it difficult to choose products that fit your values.

Since there is not one commonly defined standard used by all certifiers, we've rounded up several of the certifiers we could find whose names appear on product labels. This thread provides you with a break-down of their certification standards.

A few things to note in advance:

* Not every company uses certification. This doesn't mean that their product wasn't organically produced, but it does mean that they don't have independent verification for consumer assurances.

* Some manufacturers have a two-fold certification in that not only are the ingredients organically certified at the farm, they are also certified for their production processes at the plant.

* The certifiers being used are both governmental agencies and non-profit organizations.

For your convenience, we've also provided a link to each certifiers website if one was available.

Organic Certification Agencies

USDA has an accredidation process for certifiers. The link below is a list of all the USDA certifiers across the country, and additionally, references international certifiers as well. Note, that from time to time, as currently listed on their site, accredidation can be revoked from a certifier.

LINK TO USDA ACCREDITED CERTIFIERS

USDA National Organic Program Website



We've listed some additional certifiers below as well:


* Oregon Tilth - Certifies for organic at multiple levels including farm, manufacturing, packaging for food; certifies live-stock and bees; certifies retailers, restaurants; newly certifying fibers and textiles.

From the Oregon Tilth site:
The use of the OTCO logo is optional. It may be used on certified packaged products labeled "100 percent organic," "organic," or "made with organic (specified ingredients or food group(s)," when OTCO is the certifying agent which certified the production or handling operation producing the finished product, or when OTCO certified the production or handling operations producing raw organic product or organic ingredients used in the finished product: Provided, That, the handler producing the finished product maintain records verifying organic certification of the operations producing such ingredients. The OTCO logo may not be used on packaged products with less than 70 percent organic produced ingredients and may not be used in place of the certifier attribution (i.e, "Certified organic by Oregon Tilth) required on the information panel of certified packaged products.
For more on Oregon Tilth's certification codes: http://www.tilth.org/certification/services.html



* Food Alliance - Certifies at the farm and manufacturing level with fairly strict criteria:

From the Food Alliance site:
To earn certification, farms and ranches must meet the following standards:

• Provide safe and fair working conditions
  
• Ensure healthy and humane care for livestock
  
• No hormones or sub-therapeutic antibiotics
  
• No genetically modified crops or livestock
  
• Reduce pesticide use and toxicity
  
• Conserve soil and water resources
  
• Protect wildlife habitat
  
• Plan for continuous improvement

Food processors and manufacturers (handlers) seeking Food Alliance certification must meet the following standards:

• Use Food Alliance certified ingredients
• Ensure quality control & food safety
  
• Avoid artificial flavors, colors & preservatives
  
• Provide safe & fair working conditions
  
• Reduce use of toxic and hazardous materials
  
• Conserve energy and water
  
• Manage solid waste responsibly
  
• Plan for continuous improvement

http://www.foodalliance.org




* Humane Farm & Animal Care - Providing farmers with a "Certified Humane Raised and Handled" designation for farms that meet the criteria of "standards which include a nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones, animals raised with shelter, resting areas, sufficient space, and the ability to engage in natural behaviors."

The provide an interesting chart linked below for consumers to learn about acceptable vs. unacceptable farm practices.

LINK TO HUMANE LABEL COMPARISON CHART

http://www.certifiedhumane.org


* Salmon Safe
Salmon-Safe land management involves conservation practices that benefit the watershed where the farm or other site is located. Land managers can do much to promote healthy landscapes for salmon by planting trees along riparian areas, improving irrigation systems, erosion control, and being good stewards of the land. On a product, the salmon-safe logo refers to how the crop is produced, not to the food or beverage product itself. Products with a Salmon Safe logo may or may not be organically produced.
http://www.salmonsafe.org


The New Farm is a site which has a unique tool for cross comparative purposes between two certifiers in their database. While it's geared more for farmers, there is really good info in their database, including criteria used to certify farms and manufacturers.

LINK TO THE NEW FARM'S COMPARATIVE DATABASE


If you know of other certification sites that should be added to this list, please feel free to post and share with your fellow members!